Survival
by Veronica The Mischievous
Summary: Sometimes we are not proud of the things we have to do in order to survive. An AU fic, takes place in the late 1800's.


**Title:** Survival  
**Chapter:** 1  
**Rating:** M  
**Word Count:** over 2000...too lazy to find out.  
**Pairing:** Ace x Luffy, Shuraiya x Ace, Sanji x Nami  
**Warnings:** Yaoi, Cross-dressing, mature themes  
**Type:** AU, late 1800's  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from One Piece.  
**VTM:** This is a request fic someone asked of me on LJ, I thought it'd be fun to share it here too. It's a little dark, but I hope you enjoy.

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It was quiet at Party's inn that night. As usual, there wasn't much business. It was night and it was raining. A young boy wiped down some of the tables in the pub area. He was a scrawny thing, with messy black hair, and wide curious eyes. He was dressed in brown baggy overalls and a white shirt. "Na…Makino, where does Ace go at night?"

Makino, the owner of the inn, was a kindly woman. Finding the boy and his older brother on the streets she took them in and treated them as if they were her own children. Thanks to them taking care of the inn became much easier. But with such poor business, Ace, the older of the two, would go out to work at one of the local factories. But even that wasn't enough. "He's out working, Luffy." She said with a slightly sad look on her face.

"But don't the factories close by now?" Luffy asked with a confused blink.

"It's another job, dear. Not like the factories." Makino said hesitantly. "Don't ask about it anymore."

Luffy huffed and gave a small pout. What was so wrong about asking a question? He then returned to doing his work.

Later that night, Ace crawled into bed with Luffy; it felt odd, being the one to sneak in his bed for a change. Usually the kid would come to him for comfort if he had a nightmare or if a storm was really bad. But right now he was the one in need of comfort. He settled next to Luffy, wrapping an arm around him. If any questions were to be asked in the morning he could always blame the cold. _'Now would be a good time for a sleeping fit…'_ Ace said as he found himself studying the younger boy's features. He gently ran a hand through the black tangled mess.

Luffy stirred a little, his eyes then cracked open. "…A-Ace?" he spoke in a half whisper.

He hadn't really expected Luffy to wake so easily, usually the boy would sleep like a rock. "I was really cold, do you mind?" he said in a weary tone.

Luffy smiled and snuggled up close to him and trapped the older boy in a hug. "It's okay." He then soon fell back asleep.

This closeness was creating a little 'problem', Ace gave a small groan as he felt his half hard cock rub against Luffy's hips. He shifted a little more, enjoying the feel, but he soon stopped himself. It wasn't normal, these feelings, a man that loved another man, society shunned such people. Claims of them falling into temptation and lust, that it's nothing more than the cravings of sexual deviancy. But at the same time these feelings went beyond cravings for the body. Just what is love anyway? That strange feeling you get when your heart pounds hard in your chest? That connection you feel with someone that you care about? Ace shook his head slightly; it was foolish to think of those kinds of things. He then pressed a hesitant kiss onto Luffy's forehead, and finally slipped into a deep sleep.

The next day Luffy awoke and found Ace was gone. He pouted slightly, annoyed that they had very little time to see each other these days.

Luffy went out after his chores were done; it wasn't like the inn was going to be that busy. He headed towards the factory that Ace worked at; it was closing time so maybe he could walk home with him. He could hear the factory whistle blow, signaling the end of another day.

Luffy saw the workers drudge their way out of the factory, tired and almost lifeless. He then saw Ace, and just as he was about to call out to him, he noticed Ace was going in the opposite direction from home. He then remember Makino mentioning another job, this was a good chance to find out what it was. Luffy grinned mischievously and followed Ace at a distance.

He was lead to the more dirty part of the city, where crime ruled the streets. Luffy soon lost sight of Ace in a crowd that was by a tacky building, a brothel, with sleazy looking, or cloaked figures going in and coming out. There were many cheaply dressed women, in revealing clothing; showing off their 'assets' to prospective customers stood about. There were even quite a few men dressed as women, which wasn't too surprising since men having intercourse with other men was gravely frowned upon; but of course, that didn't mean that it didn't happen. Cross-dressing was just an easier way to get away with it.

A few offered Luffy a 'good time' in exchange for a few coppers. Luffy quickly hurried away. Just what would Ace be doing in a place like this? Though when he thought of it, it wasn't that hard to guess. Luffy frowned, that thought really bothered him for some reason, though he couldn't quite understand why.

He was about to enter the brothel when suddenly his way was blocked a giant thug, brandishing a large bat. "Can't allow you in…too young…probably got no money…"

"I'm not here for that…" Luffy said as he made a disgusted face. "I'm looking for my brother; he's taller than me, with freckles and longer hair. Did you see him here?"

The thug shook his head. "No brats allowed! Bosses' orders! Get out of here!"

Luffy glared slightly, but knew now wasn't a good time for a fight. Being weak as it was with lack of food, there would be no chance for him if he had gotten into a fight now. He reluctantly turned and left the entrance, as soon as he was sure the man wasn't looking he snuck down the alleyway next to the building. Surely there had to be some open window he could crawl into, right?

Luffy peeked into window after window as he made his way down the alley. Soon he reached the last window. Luffy peeked into the room, Ace was there, but what was he doing dressed in a woman's outfit? And why was he in that room with that woman and man? Wasn't that man Shuraiya Buscud? He was Ace's friend from the factory. Then it dawned on him, Ace had been whoring himself out. Luffy paled at the thought, why would he do something like that? He could hear their conversation.

"I want to see you two do it together." She said simply. The woman was seated in a chair across from them, she took off her cloak, revealing that she was dressed in fairly expensive attire; she must've been of higher class.

Luffy watched on as things unfolded, his eyes widening.

Ace was now sucking on Shuraiya's cock, moaning a little as Shuraiya rubbed him on his back encouragingly. It wasn't long before Shuraiya came; Ace tried his best to swallow all his seed.

Luffy paled slightly as he felt his stomach churn. And yet the display 'stirred' something else in him that made him blush deeply. He couldn't stop watching, not even as he saw Ace mounting Shuraiya and thrusting into him. Luffy didn't know what to feel, his head was now spinning with random emotion.

The woman watched with a mirthful smirk on her face. "Stop, I've seen enough."

Ace and Shuraiya looked at her questioningly.

"Oh don't worry, you'll still get paid…But I just had a much better idea. Something much more fun…" The woman then stood up from her chair. She then started to undo some of her clothes, revealing a tight, black leather corset. "I have a thing for inflicting pain on others, you see. I'll gladly pay you two triple…that is if you are willing to let me…have a little fun?"

Shuraiya and Ace looked at each other nervously.

"That's a pretty decent amount of money…" Shuraiya whispered. "I say we do it."

"She seems really off though." Ace whispered back. "I don't like this."

"If things get out of hand I'll handle it, okay?" Shuraiya said reassuringly.

"You." The woman said as she pointed at Shuraiya with a small whip in her hand. "You seem pretty strong. Hold that boy down; I want to see that pretty face twisted in pain."

"Better you than me, ne?" Shuraiya whispered as he held Ace from behind.

"I'm going to get you for this…" Ace grumbled.

"if you survive that is…I heard Lady Alvida is well known for her unusual tastes." Shuraiya said in a playful tone, trying to help lighten the mood.

"You're not helping…" Ace said nervously as the noblewoman approached.

"Hmm, how shall we start? Maybe some sodomy? Ooh! I know, if we have any pokers in here I could heat it up and use it to burn my name into your skin!" Lady Alvida said gleefully. It was like a child that took pleasure from wrecking her toys.

Ace's face paled as he watched her pick up a poker and began to heat it in the fireplace. "O-Oi…I-isn't that going a bit too far?"

"Now, now, I want to get my money's worth, no harm in that." She said as she took the poker out of the fire. She now had an eerily dark look on her face.

Ace started to wriggle and squirm. "L-Let me go! God damn you Shuraiya!"

"That's it, that's a look I can't get enough of! You look so beautiful with that look of terror…" Alvida said lustfully. "Now, scream for me!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Luffy looked on in horror as he watched the woman proceed to burn letters into Ace's skin. Feeling sick as he heard his brother's screams he turned away from the window and threw up. Coughing, he wiped his mouth and then started to run home.

That night Luffy was really quiet, he wondered if Makino knew, but then again given how she would act when he'd ask questions, she probably did.

"Hey Lu…" Ace said as he walked in, he had a slightly pained look on his face. The burns were really hurting; he didn't want to worry them though. He then gave a smirk. "Oi, managed to stay out of trouble today?" he said as reached out to ruffle the boy's hair.

Remembering what he saw, Luffy quickly backed away. How could he look so calm after all that happened to him?

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Ace asked.

"It's nothing…" Luffy then hurriedly left the room.

Ace looked worriedly at Makino. "Has he been like that all day?"

Makino shook her head. "No, he's been out most of the evening."

"Out?" Ace felt a little queasy when he thought about it. "Do you think he might've followed me?"

Makino gave a solemn nod. "Yeah, I think so. Are you going to try to explain it to him?"

Ace gave a half hearted laugh. "I don't think I have much of a choice."

Later that night as Luffy was getting dressed for bed he heard a light knock on his bedroom door. "Come in." He said as he pulled his night shirt over his head.

Ace peeked in. "Na, Lu, I think we need to have a talk."

Luffy gave a halfhearted scowl. "I don't want to talk to you."

Ace ignored that statement. "Did you follow me earlier?"

Luffy bit his lip, his back was facing the older boy, so he could see the pained look on his face. "To that place? Where you and your friend did those things to each other? Where you let that lady burn you?"

Ace unconsciously touched the spot where he was burned. "I don't do it out of enjoyment, and neither does Shuraiya; we do it because it's for survival. It makes much more money than the factories, so at least we won't starve to death…"

"I won't eat as much!" Luffy said suddenly as he turned to face Ace. His eyes were a little watery. "Just don't go there anymore! Please!"

Ace gave a sad smile. "Na, you don't eat enough as it is, and there's Makino too. If either of you get sick, then what'll we do?"

Luffy trapped the older boy in a tight hug. "I'll go work at the factories, maybe if we both work then…"

Ace scratched Luffy's hair. "Trust me, it still wouldn't be enough, and besides, the factories wouldn't want to hire you. You're a bit too scrawny. Hell, most of them wouldn't take me. Don't worry about me; things will be better one day, okay? When they are, I'll never go back to that place, I promise."

Luffy went out looking for jobs the day, and just as Ace said, he was constantly turned away. _'It's not fair, I can work…'_ Not willing to give up he continued on. After a while he spotted two of his old friends, Usopp and Chopper, two fellow orphans that he and Ace would often hang out with. "Oi!" he called.

Chopper was the first to notice Luffy, he grinned and rushed over. "Luffy!!!" he cried as he trapped the other boy in a hug.

Usopp smiled and ran over to them. "Oi! Luffy! It's been a while!"

Luffy grinned. "I've been helping Makino with her inn, sorry I haven't been able to visit you guys lately."

"It's no problem, it's just good to see you again." Usopp said with a laugh. "So what brings you here?"

"Looking for work." Luffy said with his grin still there. He didn't want to give any hint that there were troubles. "I want to help out more. But so far no one is willing to hire me yet."

Chopper then took a good look at Luffy; he then noticed how thin Luffy felt. "Na, Luffy, are you okay? You look underfed." The young boy had a natural knack for telling if a person was unhealthy. He'd also often peep in on a certain local doctor, fascinated by his medicine even though people often called him a crazy old coot.

"I'm okay, really." Luffy insisted.

Chopper shook his head. "No you're not; you look like you could get sick soon."

Luffy then looked worried, remembering what Ace had said before. "Well, we can't get a lot of food. The inn isn't doing so great right now."

Usopp gave a nod. "Ah, so that's why you're looking for a job. Well, you could always work with us and Nami."

Luffy blinked. "Nami…?"

Usopp nodded. "Yeah, she's good at making money. Thanks to her Chopper and me are doing a lot better than before."

"She can be a bit scary though." Chopper added.

Usopp paled. "Shhh! Don't say that too loud, she's just around the corner!"

" But Miss Nami!" A blonde young man said in a pleading tone as he bounded around the corner of a building, dodging airborne objects. "Please hear me out!"

"Oh be quiet! Like you're father would ever allow you to marry me! Do you **like** playing with a girl's heart?! You cad!" Nami nearly shouted. She then picked up a rock threw it at the blonde. "Go away! I never want to see you again!"

Luffy watched with a clueless expression on his face. "What's going on?" He asked Usopp.

Usopp gave a sigh. "Nami and Sanji used to be friends since they were kids. We all thought Sanji was one of us, but Nami recently found out he's from a well off family. I still think he's okay, but Nami took it like it was a huge betrayal."

"Nami doesn't like the rich?" Luffy said as he scratched his head.

"Not many do. A lot of them are cruel, and like to seek new 'entertainments'. Sometimes at the lower classes' expense." Usopp explained. He then had a crafty look on his face. "I hear some of them even get their kicks out of murder!"

"No way!" Luffy said with a look of dread on his face.

"Yeah, you know Jack the slasher? Some say he's really none other than Kuro Klahadore!" Usopp said in a spooky tone.

"No waaaaay!" Luffy said in shock. He then paused for a moment. "Who's that?"

"…Forget it, you're hopeless." Usopp said with a sigh.

Nami then walked over to them. "What are you two idiots talking about now?

"Usopp told me that you know how to get money." Luffy said bluntly.

"Well yeah, I steal." Nami said simply. "I've gotten together a few friends and we steal the rich, we're called 'Nami's Bandits'." She said proudly.

"Eh? Since when did we call ourselves that?" Usopp asked.

"SINCE I SAID SO!" Nami growled as she gave Usopp a good bop to the head.

"Na? But isn't stealing wrong?" Luffy said with a blink.

Nami blushed slightly. "Well this is for survival, plenty of people have to do things they don't want to so they can survive."

Luffy thought about Ace, he bit his lip. "You're right, I'm sorry." He said in a serious tone.

Nami looked a little surprised. "You understand what I'm saying?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, someone I know is…" he didn't finish, but the sudden change in manner spoke volumes. "Please, can I work with you guys?"

"I see; you don't have to say anymore." Nami said understandingly. "You can join us."

Luffy then gave a grin. "Shi, shi, shi, shi! Thank you!"

-End of Chapter 1-


End file.
